Reviews & Praise

Invigorating and flowing with perfect rhythm, your story is pleasant to read alternating between evocative descriptions and suspense at just the right moments. I love the precision and sober factual presentations in your writing while mindful of the reader who may not be polyglot. You take us with you with humor; throughout landscapes; lively human, cultural and natural encounters; and across the infinite seas—a life that I would have loved to have known more.

I was touched by your discretion of placing yourself in scenes, always leaving the spotlight to Michel and the boys. Discreet and modest, you have never boasted about your adventure. And indeed, this is Adventure with a big “A” that you recount without invoking pity in face of all the risks, dangers, deceptions. Yet, you remained buoyed by friendship and confidence in your guiding star.

Not all grandmothers have such a passionate story to tell their grandchildren let alone to hand down in such a striking book of adventure.

—Marie France Weber, retired Professor of French Literature, Lycée Français San Francisco and French National Education

About Janis

Sail Cowabunga! A Family's Ten Years at Sea, Janis Couvreux is a journalist, sailor, mom, grandmom, traveler, and Franco-American, blogging at the Huffington Post and The Lady Alliance about living bilingually, crossing oceans, backpacking adventures, and raising kids outside the box.